Network storage, also referred to as network storage systems or data storage systems, is computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. Typically, network storage systems process a large amount of Input/Output (IO) requests, and high availability, speed, and reliability are desirable characteristics of network storage. A host system accesses the network storage. In addition, the host system is configured to execute a plurality of applications that access the network storage.
Because the host system accesses the network storage over a network, the performance of the network dictates how quickly data is delivered to and from the network storage. Performance of the network may be reflected through quality of service (QoS) metrics, such as error rates, throughput, latency, availability, jitter, etc. In some cases, because the network may be performing poorly, or below minimum standards set for the QoS metrics, access to the network storage will be compromised.
In other cases, because the network spans the space between the host system and the network storage, there will always be performance issues that are related to the network, even if the network is meeting minimum standards for QoS metrics. That is, some data access requirements cannot be met when performing access operations over a network.
What is needed is a storage device capable of processing IOs with high performance.
It is in this context that embodiments arise.